FAQs

DID YOU

KNOW?

FREQUENTLY

ASKED QUESTIONS

Can Sunstream lifts be left in the ice for winter?

That depends.
Boathouses – All our customers who have a boathouse, who bubble/run a de-icer around their boathouse generally store their boat on the lift throughout the winter. This saves them the storage fee as well as reducing the possibility of damage during the boat storage process. The boat still needs to be winterized by the marina’s mobile winterizing technicians.
Permanent Dock who bubbles – Customers who have a permanent dock but no boathouse, who bubble/run a de-icer to protect their dock, lower the lift, disconnect the hydraulic box and leave it ‘as is’ for the winter. In the spring, they re-connect the hydraulic box and they are ready to go. We perform this service for many of our customers and it takes less than an hour.
Seasonal Dock/Lift – Lastly, for our customers who have seasonal/non-permanent docks, we generally remove their lift in the fall and re-install it each spring and sometimes do the same with their dock. Sometimes their seasonal dock guy, if experienced, can perform the fall and spring seasonal removal and re-installation of the lift, especially if it is a 4,500lb capacity lift or less.

Aren’t hydraulic lifts prone to costly hydraulic cylinder failure?

Our competitors admit that their hydraulic cylinders are prone to failure. Ours are not. Sunstream’s cylinder failure rate is less 0.1%. Why are Sunstream hydraulic cylinders so reliable? Because Sunstream invested the time and resources to develop a hydraulic cylinder that would work flawlessly even when submerged for decades and they patented the design, so no other company can use it. The competition use “off the shelf” cylinders built for snowplows which, when used for boatlifts, leak and fail after only a few years.

How much water depth do I need?

In general, we like to see a minimum of 30″ of water at the low water mark during the boating season. We are not concerned about the water depth in November or December. Most lifts are 10-12′ long, except for our PWC/Sea-Doo/Waverunner lift which is just under 8′ long. Therefore, for a 21′ boat, the water depth is measured at the very back of where the boat will be moored and 10-12′ forward from that position. The depth at the very bow of the boat is not measured as the front of our lift is well back from that area. Therefore, if the very front of your slip only has 10-20″ of water, we can still likely install a lift. We frequently clear out sand and debris from slips to gain needed depth and to stabilize our lift. For larger lifts, 8,000lb and over, several more inches of water is needed starting at 36″ and moving up to 45″+.